At least 22 years for Rhys's teen killer

Teenage gunman Sean Mercer was jailed for at least 22 years today for the murder of innocent schoolboy Rhys Jones in the UK.

Mercer, 18, blasted three bullets across a busy pub car park in Croxteth, Liverpool, targeting rivals who had strayed onto his turf.

But Rhys, 11, was shot in the neck when he wandered into the line of fire as he made his way home from football training.

He died in his mother’s arms a short time later.

Mercer, 18, was convicted of murder yesterday but the verdict could not be reported until now.

Following the convictions of his fellow gang members for helping him, Rhys’s father said: “Finally justice has been done for Rhys.”